The new book launch conference of Gathering of Elites of the World and the 1st National Forum for Post-Doctors in the Science of Personnel was held at Shanghai Academy on July 8, 2017. The conference was jointly sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), National Post-Doctor Regulatory Commission and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, and undertaken by the Personnel Bureau of CASS, the Post-Doctor Regulatory Commission of CASS, the Organization Department of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, Shanghai Academy, the Institute of Population and Labor Economics of CASS, China Social Sciences Press and the Party Building Books Publishing House. Wang Jingqing, Vice President and Deputy Secretary of the Party Group (minister-level) of CASS, Sun Xueyu, Head of the Personnel Work Bureau of the CPC Organization Department, Yu Jiadong, Head of the Professional and Technical Personnel Management Department of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Chen Hao, Deputy Director of the Organization Department of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, and Jin Donghan, President of Shanghai University, attended and addressed the conference.

The book titled Gathering of Elites of the World – Experience of Learning Xi Jinping’s Important Statements about Talent Work, a creation assigned by the Talent Work Coordination Group of the CPC Central Committee and commissioned by the National Social Science Foundation, was released at the conference. Dozens of famous experts and scholars and outstanding post-doctoral representatives from Party and government organizations, scientific research institutes and colleges, had extensive and in-depth exchanges centering on how to gather worldwide elites and give full play to their talent amid the current context.

In his speech, Wang Jingqing expressed his congratulations on the release of the publication. He noted that deeply understanding the spirit of Xi Jinping’s important speeches about talent work is the precondition for talent research and talent work. It’s necessary and meaningful to compile a book to popularize theories and interpret Xi’s ideas about talent work. Gathering of Elites of the World is a book that the scholars at CASS developed after studying Xi Jinping’s important statements about talent work. Different from both professional theoretical articles and general popular books, it’s a special title aimed to interpret Xi’s ideas about talent work, deepen theoretical understanding, and guide work practice. It is hoped that the publication of this title will help the broad masses of talents and talented workers to systematically understand the new ideas, new conclusions, new arrangements and new requirements of the General Secretary on the work of talents..

Wang Jingqing noted that talents are the key resources in ruling a country and administering a government. The international competition in comprehensive national power is ultimately the competition in talents, which is the competition in talent systems by nature and requires accelerated development of the talent systems with global competitiveness. The reform moves aimed to deepen the talent systems as proposed since implementation of the 13th Five-Year Plan are a major institutional result of studying the spirit of Xi’s important speeches, as well as a major theoretic innovation and practice summary during implementation of the strategy known as “making the country powerful through talents”. Wang Jingqing added, CASS has studied the spirit of Xi’s important speeches, and defined three major strategies, i.e. strengthening the academy through scientific research, talent training and sound management, centering on accelerating construction of the philosophical and social sciences with Chinese characteristics. As for the institutional reform for talent development, CASS is presently advancing three key strategic initiatives, i.e. upgrading the innovative project of philosophy and social science, intensifying construction of the think tank talent team, and building the University of CASS.

Sun Xueyu noted that studying Xi Jinping’s important statements about talent work is the important task of the Talent Work Coordination Group of the CPC Central Committee. Gathering of Elites of the World, compiled by CASS, is of great necessity and significance to deeply understanding Xi’s ideas about talents. Chen Hao briefed the implementation of Xi’s important statements about talent work in Shanghai, and expected increased cooperation between CASS and Shanghai for a better synergy between CASS’s theoretic advantages and Shanghai’s advantages in practice. Jin Donghan fully affirms the important role of the book in guiding personnel institution reform, and said cadres will be organized to study how to apply the theoretic results in the book to reform practice. He also said the experts and scholars in the field of talent studies are welcome to make Shanghai University an important base for both theoretical study and practice.

Zhang Guanzi, leader of the group compiling the book and Head of the Personnel Bureau of CASS, reviewed and introduced the background, writing process, and main contents of the new book. He said, since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPC has given instructions and imposed requirements about China’s talent cause and talent work on multiple occasions. The important statements are of great guiding significance to thoroughly implementing the spirit of the 18th National Congress of the CPC and the spirit of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth plenary sessions of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC, accurately mastering the inherent law and key tasks of talent work and accelerating implementation of the strategy about making the country powerful through talents, and charter the course and provide basis for the talent work amid the new contexts. To deeply understand Xi’s important ideas about talent work, the Talent Work Coordination Group of the CPC Central Committee released a circular in June 2014, calling for all levels of personnel and personnel departments and talent workers to earnestly study and implement the spirit of Xi’s important instructions and statements on the work of talents. CASS pays great attention to the notice. Wang Weiguang, President and Secretary of the Party Group of CASS, gave special instructions, requiring the Personnel Bureau of CASS to take the lead in conducting a special research on Xi’s important statements about talent work while organizing all the departments to study the important statements. Under the careful guidance and vigorous support of the CPC Organization Department and National Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Science, the special research has been included into the special projects entrusted by the National Social Science Foundation. As the department in charge of the business, the Personnel Bureau of CASS earnestly implemented and vigorously advanced the project, organized experts and scholars to study and discuss Xi’s important statements about talent work, revised the drafts several times and finally developed the book titled Gathering of Elites of the World, which was jointly released by China Social Sciences Press and the Party Building Books Publishing House in June 2017.

The book Gathering of Elites of the World features rich content and vivid language. Proceeding from the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy and beginning with the premise that “realizing the Chinese dream of great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation ultimately relies on talents”, the book systematically elaborates Xi’s important ideas about talent work by ten topics, i.e. “we need talents now more than in any other period in history”, “creating the vivid situation in which everyone can become a talent and display his/her talent”, “following the law of socialist market economy and the law of talent growth", “construction of a large-scale and quality talent team”, “selecting elites in the world and giving play to their talent”, “establishing talent clustering systems and mechanisms”, “giving play to the leading role of talents in implementing the innovation-driven development strategy”, “advocating the style of recognizing, appreciating, respecting and using talents” and “the key is to uphold the principle of human resources under the Party leadership”. The book fully follows the spirit of the CPC Central Committee, highlights problem orientation, reflects the depth of theories, and is obviously readable. It is expected to help cadres and the general public, as well as talent workers, deepen their understanding of Xi’s important ideas about talent work, better grasp the connotation of the ideas, make clear the basic directions, overall deployment and concrete requirements about talent work in the new period, do a good job in talent work, take the talent cause of the Party and government to a new level, and open up new vistas.

At the conference, Wang Jingqing, Sun Xueyu, Yu Jiadong, Chen Hao, Jin Donghan, Zhang Guanzi, Zhao Jianying from China Social Sciences Press and Li Shengli from the Party Building Books Publishing House jointly unveiled the new book and witnessed its release.

The conference was themed “how to gather elites of the world amid the new situations”. Professor Wang Tongxun, former president of the Chinese Academy of Personnel Science, Professor Shen Ronghua, Honorary Director of Shanghai Institute of Public Administration and Human Resources, Researcher Zhang Chewei, Director of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics of CASS, Researcher Wang Wencheng, Deputy President of Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, Cui Weihang, Deputy Director of CASS Institute of Philosophy, as well as scholars from CASS, the Organization Department of the CPC Beijing Dongcheng District Committee, and the North China Global Talent Institute delivered wonderful speeches. These speeches centered on the spirit of Xi’s important speeches about talent work, as well as on topics such as the role of talents in implementing the innovation-driven development strategy, the reform in talent institutions, following the law of the socialist market economy and talent growth, innovating in the ways of talent management under the Party leadership, meeting the challenges facing talent internationalization, and building the talent system with global competitiveness. The post-doctoral representatives from CASS, Peking University, Nankai University and the Ocean University of China had in-depth exchanges and discussions, in combination with their research results, which centered on how to implement the strategy of making the country powerful through talents, and how to advance the reform in the talent system.

The conference was aimed to study Xi Jinping’s important statements, carry out the relevant arrangements related to the strategy of making the country powerful through talents, as defined in the 13th Five-year Plan, summarize the experience of the talent institutional reform, and promote academic exchanges among post-doctors in the science of personnel. The conference produced sound results and became a feast for the mind about new theories and ideas.

Hundreds of guests, including famous experts and scholars and excellent post-doctors from the Party and governments, scientific research institutes and colleges, attended the conference.

(by Mu Ning, Chen Wenyan, Photo by Xiang Jinmei)